# 1960 Armstrong 500

The 1960 Armstrong 500 was an endurance motor race for Australian made or assembled standard production sedans. The event was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 20 November 1960 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total distance of 501 miles.
The race was organised by the Light Car Club of Australia and promoted by Armstrong York Engineering Pty Ltd. Jim Thompson, managing director of the shock absorber manufacturer, was encouraged by his PR man Ron Thonemann to increase the company's business with major carmakers, particularly Ford and Holden, by sponsoring a race.
This was the first event held in the history of the race later to become known as the Bathurst 1000, the race that would come to dominate Australian motor racing.

## Outright controversy

Officially only class placings and prize money were awarded, with no outright winner recognised. In later years as the fame of the Bathurst 1000 grew, outright placings, particularly the outright winner, became more widely recognised. John Roxburgh and Frank Coad have been widely acclaimed as the outright winners of the event, and have been recognised in CAMS motorsport manual in more recent times. This has been the source of some controversy as claims the winners of Class C, Geoff Russell, David Anderson and Tony Loxton covered the race distance in a faster time. The source of the discrepancy arises from the starting procedure which saw the classes released at ten second intervals, with the Class D Roxburgh/Coad Vauxhall starting the race ten seconds before the Class C Russell/Anderson/Loxton Peugeot. A comprehensive investigation in 1992 by Graham Hoinville, utilizing the record of individual lap times from the race, concluded that the car of Frank Coad and John Roxburgh was the first to finish the race.

## Class structure
### Class A

Class A was for cars with an engine capacity of 750cc or less. The class featured Fiat 600, Lloyd Alexander, NSU Prinz and Renault 750

### Class B

Class B was for cars with an engine capacity of between 751cc and 1300cc. The class featured Ford Anglia, Renault Dauphine, Simca Aronde, Triumph Herald and Volkswagen Beetle

### Class C

Class C was for cars with an engine capacity of between 1301cc and 2000cc. The class featured Austin Lancer, Hillman Minx, Morris Major, Peugeot 403 and Singer Gazelle.

### Class D

Class D was for cars with an engine capacity between 2001cc and 3500cc. The class featured Ford Falcon, Humber Super Snipe, Mercedes-Benz 220SE, Standard Vanguard, Vauxhall Cresta.

### Class E

Class E was for cars with an engine capacity over 3500cc. There was only one entry in the class, a Ford Customline.

## Results

Class results were as follows:
| Pos. | No. | Entrant | Drivers | Car | Laps |
| Class A ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Continental & General Dist. | Doug Whiteford Lex Davison | NSU Prinz | 155 |
| 2 | 2 | Continental & General Dist. | Bruce Walton Paul England | NSU Prinz | 151 |
| 3 | 3 | Continental & General Dist. | Hoot Gibson J Gorman | NSU Prinz | 150 |
| 4 | 10 | W. McB. March | Bill March John Connolly | Renault 750 | 145 |
| 5 | 15 | Wal Gillespie Fiat Services | Wal Gillespie Lou Sinclair | Fiat 600 | 138 |
| 6 | 4 | Finlay Bros. P/L | Kevin Lott G Petty | Lloyd Alexander TS | 135 |
| 7 | 16 | Torino Motors P/L | Brian Pyers Frank Elkins | Fiat 600 | 135 |
| 8 | 5 | Finlay Bros. P/L | Graham Levingston Peter Candy | Lloyd Alexander TS | 134 |
| 9 | 7 | Finlay Bros. P/L | R Slaney G White | Lloyd Alexander TS | 132 |
| 10 | 8 | B.P. Batteries P/L | Les Park J Fleming | Renault 750 | |
| DNF | 9 | Monash Service Station | Rex Emmett A Hawkins | Renault 750 | |
| DNF | 6 | Finlay Brothers P/L | Tony Thieler Frank Kilfoyle | Lloyd Alexander TS | 120 |
| Class B ||||||
| 1 | 24 | Melody Motors P/L | Murray Galt Bill Murray | Simca Aronde | 164 |
| 2 | 23 | Chrysler Australia Ltd. (Eiffel Tower Group) | Jack Nougher Lionel Marsh | Simca Aronde | 161 |
| 3 | 22 | Chrysler Australia Ltd. (B.J. Autos Service) | Bob Brown Michael Lempriere | Simca Aronde | 161 |
| 4 | 27 | Australian Motor Industries | Jack Maurer Ern Abbott | Triumph Herald | 158 |
| 5 | 20 | Orman's Service Station | Rex Orman Max McPherson | Volkswagen | 158 |
| 6 | 18 | Lanock Motors Ltd. | David McKay Greg Cusack | Volkswagen | 158 |
| 7 | 19 | Spencer Motors P/L | Arthur Wylie Ken Wylie | Volkswagen | 157 |
| 8 | 29 | Nalders Garage | Bill Nalder John Ampt | Ford Anglia | 156 |
| 9 | 14 | Ecurie Dauphine | J Leighton Alan Ling | Renault Dauphine | 154 |
| 10 | 12 | Ecurie Dauphine | Des West Ian Geoghegan | Renault Dauphine | 152 |
| 11 | 11 | Ecurie Dauphine | Bill Pitt Leo Geoghegan | Renault Dauphine | 151 |
| DNF | 17 | V.W. Motors P/L | Eddie Perkins George Reynolds | Volkswagen | 151 |
| DNF | 26 | Australian Motor Industries | Graham Hoinville Austin Miller | Triumph Herald | 100 |
| DNF | 25 | R. Christie | Ray Christie George Hughes | Simca Aronde | 66 |
| DNF | 21 | Chrysler Australia Ltd. (J.E. Murray) | Jack Murray W Murison | Simca Aronde | |
| Class C ||||||
| 1 | 34 | Continental & General Dist. P/L | Geoff Russell David Anderson Tony Loxton | Peugeot 403 | 167 |
| 2 | 41 | British Motor Corp. | Peter Manton Barry Topen | Morris Major | 164 |
| 3 | 38 | British Motor Corp. | George Spanos Leo Taylor | Austin Lancer | 161 |
| 4 | 35 | Continental & General Dist. P/L | Bob Holden Ken Brigden | Peugeot 403 | 160 |
| 5 | 42 | British Motor Corp. | Brian Muir Jim Smith | Morris Major | 160 |
| 6 | 43 | British Motor Corp. | Rod Murphy John Callaway | Morris Major | 159 |
| 7 | 45 | Rootes (Aust) Limited | Harry Firth John Reaburn | Singer Gazelle | 159 |
| 8 | 36 | Continental & General Dist. P/L | Ron Lilley Jim Gullan | Peugeot 403 | 157 |
| 9 | 39 | British Motor Corp. | Brian Foley Alan Edney | Austin Lancer | 155 |
| DNF | 44 | Rootes (Aust) Limited | Bill Clemens Don Dunoon | Hillman Minx | |
| DNF | 40 | British Motor Corp. | Barry Gurdon Clyde Miller | Austin Lancer | 59 |
| Class D ||||||
| 1 | 37 | S. A. Chenery P/L | John Roxburgh Frank Coad | Vauxhall Cresta | 167 |
| 2 | 28 | Australian Motor Industries | Norm Beechey John French | Standard Vanguard | 162 |
| 3 | 30 | Autoland P/L | Bob Jane Lou Molina | Ford XK Falcon | 161 |
| DNF | 46 | Rootes (Aust) Limited | Bill Graetz Fred Sutherland | Humber Super Snipe | 125 |
| DNF | 47 | Smith Street Motors P/L | Gavin Youl John Youl | Mercedes-Benz 220SE | 67 |
| DNF | 31 | Wangaratta Motors | Ron Phillips Ern Seeliger | Ford XK Falcon | 49 |
| Class E ||||||
| 1 | 32 | Sabina Motors P/L | Ray Gibbs Murray Carter | Ford Customline | 154 |

## Statistics

* Fastest Lap - #47 Youl/Youl - 2:41 - Laps 15, 45 & 62
* Race Time of Car No. 37 : 8:20:45